Croatia / Lika-Senj
Zrće
Zrće is a 774 m-long fine-gravel beach facing east on the Adriatic Sea, 3.1 km south-east of Novalja (Lika-Senj, Croatia). The sea averages 24.0 °C in August, its warmest month, and 11.8 °C in February; it is 21 °C or warmer in June–September.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Reference
Zrće is a long pebble beach on the Adriatic island of Pag and is located on the Dalmatian coast. Zrće is located near the town of Novalja and the area of Gajac, about 2 kilometres (1 mile) from the town's center.
Wikidata item Q227190.
Month by month
October at Zrće
Beach-day index 3.8/10 · Croatia median 4.4
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 12.9 °C | 11.8 °C | 12.0 °C | 13.7 °C | 17.4 °C | 21.4 °C | 23.7 °C | 24.0 °C | 21.8 °C | 19.4 °C | 17.0 °C | 14.7 °C |
| High °C | 4° | 5° | 9° | 14° | 19° | 23° | 26° | 26° | 21° | 16° | 10° | 5° |
| Low °C | -1° | -1° | 2° | 6° | 10° | 14° | 16° | 16° | 12° | 8° | 4° | 0° |
| Rain mm | 101 | 108 | 91 | 92 | 105 | 79 | 62 | 82 | 140 | 132 | 156 | 123 |
| Cloud % | 64 | 60 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 43 | 32 | 32 | 44 | 53 | 64 | 61 |
| Wind m/s | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| Daylight h | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| Record high/low | 15°/-15° | 15°/-13° | 20°/-13° | 25°/-3° | 30°/2° | 36°/4° | 38°/10° | 37°/7° | 30°/4° | 26°/-3° | 23°/-4° | 14°/-11° |
| Beach index | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 6.1 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
The beach-day index peaks in July–August; July scores 9.2/10 with highs of 26 °C, sea at 23.7 °C and 62 mm of rain.
That matches the median for beaches in Croatia in the same month.
At its warmest the water here is 0.5 °C cooler than the Croatia median for August (24.5 °C).
Across the year the sea averages 17.5 °C, cooler than 61% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
November is the wettest month (156 mm) and July the driest (62 mm); the yearly total is about 1,270 mm.
Daylight runs from 8.9 hours in December to 15.5 hours in June; in mid-July the sun rises at 05:28 and sets at 20:43 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces east (95°). Open water fills about 11% of the horizon close by, which makes it a sheltered cove or bay.
At no time of year does the sun set over the sea here: sunset bearings run from 237° to 305°, behind the land.
Sunrise is over the sea in February–April and September–October.
The opposite shore is only about 2.0 km away to the east, which keeps the water sheltered from big waves. The beach is on Pag, an island of about 282 km².
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 6 m deep, a shallow, gently shelving sea floor. Behind the beach the ground is about 21 m above sea level 500 m inland and 45 m at 1.5 km.
Within 1 km, the land is 35% tree cover, 28% grassland and 23% shrubland (satellite land-cover map, 2021): a largely natural setting. Water makes up 36% of that circle.
- Tree 35%
- Grass 28%
- Shrub 23%
- Bare 8%
- Built 5%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
Bathing water quality
The official EU bathing-water site “Uvala Zrće 2”, 90 m from the beach centre, was rated Excellent for the 2025 season. It was Excellent in 11 of its 11 classified seasons since 2015.
- 2015Excellent
- 2016Excellent
- 2017Excellent
- 2018Excellent
- 2019Excellent
- 2020Excellent
- 2021Excellent
- 2022Excellent
- 2023Excellent
- 2024Excellent
- 2025Excellent
Source: European Environment Agency, EU Bathing Water Directive assessments · national site profile. Classes are based on four seasons of bacteriological sampling.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
Photos
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- 9Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 1Public toilets
- –Showers
- 4Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 1Hotels & guesthouses
- 1Bus stops (1.5 km)
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 4 restaurants and 5 bars. Accommodation: 1 hotel or guesthouse.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Nature
- Stražica peak 1.1 km W
- Katarelac peak 1.3 km SE
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zadar Airport Zadar | ZAD | 60.3 km | south-east |
| Rijeka Airport Rijeka(Omišalj) | RJK | 80.1 km | north |
| Pula Airport Pula | PUY | 87.9 km | north-west |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 1 bus stop within 1.5 km and 4 mapped car parks within 1 km.
2 towns and villages of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 2.7K residents); within 30 km there are 12 (about 15.9K).
When people look it up
The EN Wikipedia article was read 7,092 times in the 12 months to August 2026. Interest peaks in July (1,219 views), 4.7× the quietest month.
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
| Beach | Distance | Warmest sea | Length | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zrće | – | 24.0 °C | 774 m | Fine gravel |
| Plaža Šimuni | 9.0 km SE | 24.5 °C | 336 m | Pebble |
| Plaža Bošana | 12.0 km SE | 24.5 °C | 44 m | Gravel |
- Plaža Šimuni9.0 km SECompare
- Plaža Bošana12.0 km SECompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 10.1 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w38630995; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Water body, status and length: Wikidata (CC0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2A_33TVK_20260426_1_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Bathing-water quality: European Environment Agency (site HRBWC-COAST-HR4-5067).
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 90 Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.